More Gop Election Judges In Store

SPRINGFIELD — Nearly 340 Democrats serving as election judges in DuPage County would be replaced by Republicans, if Gov. Jim Edgar signs a plan to change the way the county appoints them.

Under legislation that cleared the General Assembly this week, election commissioners in largely Republican DuPage would be required to appoint a majority of a precinct's election judges from the county's leading political party.

Rep. James Meyer (R-Bolingbrook), who sponsored the bill, said his proposal would bring DuPage County in line with the appointment practices of all other Illinois counties.

Currently in DuPage, five election judges are appointed in each precinct. In the odd-numbered precincts, three judges of the predominant party are appointed and two judges are appointed from the minority party. It is reversed in the even-numbered precincts.

The county's leading political party would be determined by the number of votes cast in the county during the preceding primary election.

Daniel Nelson, executive director of the Du Page County Election Commission, said that of the 3,400 election judges in the county's 685 precincts, about 340 positions would go from Democrats to Republicans.

"The bill makes things a lot easier from a practical standpoint," Nelson said. "It's difficult to find Democrat election judges in DuPage County, just as hard as it would to be find Republican election judges in Chicago."

Also this week, the House gutted a bill that would have prohibited large airplanes from landing at the Du Page Airport. The earlier bill would have banned any large jets, which generally weigh more than 91,000 pounds, from landing at the airport.

The bill was originally drafted to ease residents' worries about noise.

But the Illinois Department of Transportation opposed the bill, because, officials said, it jeopardized millions of dollars in block grants from the federal government. As part of that grant program, airports in the state have to agree to let large planes land there in the event of emergency.

The bill as passed by the House now says the large aircraft can use the airport in emergencies and for air shows and exhibitions. It now goes to the Senate.